Travis Family History
Travis Name Meaning
English (mainly Lancashire and Yorkshire): from Old French and Middle English travers also Middle English travas travis a word with several meanings. It may denote a toll paid for the right to cross a boundary or bridge the surname perhaps being for someone who paid or collected such tolls. Alternatively it may mean ‘crosswise sideways’ or ‘dispute disagreement’. The Old French word also had the sense ‘crossing passage’ and it is more than likely that the surname is Norman in origin for someone who lived at a crossing place or at a place so named (compare French Travers ). The presence of the preposition ‘de’ (and perhaps also ‘le’) in early forms of the surname appears to indicate a topographic or habitational explanation but the French preposition and definite article were sometimes added gratuitously to Norman surnames as a sign of their high social status. See also Travers Americanized form of German Drewes .
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
